<p>At the 9am Mass this morning at St. Francis (an on campus church) there was an entire fraternity in attendance. They were announced at the beginning of the service (don’t remember which one they were). I don’t know why the whole house was there - all in matching blazers, pants, white shirts and red ties.</p>
<p>During Communion they all went up. The Catholics received, while the non-Catholics crossed their hands across their chests to indicate that they were to receive a blessing. It was an amazing sight to see all these well-dressed young men. </p>
<p>I don’t know if they go to a different house of worship each week to show respect to their brothers’ faiths or what.</p>
<p>I’m sure they had good intentions, but the Eucharist is not the time to give blessings to non-communicants. People should have a desire to meet the requirements in order to participate in this sacred ceremony and not just walk up because everyone else is walking up.</p>
<p>And also the priest blesses the entire congregation following the Eucharist. This means the first blessing is unnecessary since everyone will be blessed prior to the conclusion of Mass. </p>
<p>It’s a controversial issue in the Catholic Church since it is not approved, but not expressly forbidden. Though priests are not allowed to add any practices to Mass, this practice slipped in about 20 or 30 years ago and was never approved by the Church as an addition to the way Mass is celebrated.</p>
<p>Each semester the are “Greek” designated worship days where entire sororities or fraternities worship together ( am not sure how the churches are chosen)…could have been one of those days. I would have to loved to have seen them…bet they looked handsome. My mother always said “Act as pretty as you look”…sounds like they brought their respect and manners as well!</p>
<p>I think the practice got started during student Masses at Catholic schools. The K-2 would go up for a blessing. It may have also developed as an ecumenical way to include others at weddings, funerals, and other occasions where non-Catholics are attending Mass.</p>
<p>I think that if it were really frowned upon, the bishops would have stopped the practice a long time ago. </p>
<p>Let’s not turn this thread into a discussion about Canon Law, the General Instruction of the Roman Missal, or anything else.</p>
<p>My kids went to Catholic schools K through 12, and it was the common procedure for non-Catholics to go up during the Eucharist with arms crossed. I realize you don’t see this much at a regular mass, although priests will often bless kids too young to receive communion. I really like the spirit of it.</p>
<p>Wow. Catholic doctrine on the Bama board. Did I accidentally wake up in bizarro world?</p>
<p>kjcphmom… My Catholic freshman goes to St. Francis and loves it. The 7 pm student mass on Sundays is very well attended. He hasn’t been able to attend many of the Tuesday night deals because of his class schedule. But the sense I get is that if you can just get them to start going to church at college, it can become a habit rather quickly. Especially if they can find friends who like to go.</p>
<p>I was also surprised to see the progress on the new church bldg. When I was in Ttown two weeks earlier, the structure was just the heavy metal framing…now it’s all covered up with that construction insulation siding (whatever that stuff is called).</p>
<p>the new building is a very attractive shape. I look forward to its completion. </p>
<p>I think the current church will be turned into a larger Student Center. It’s a nice shape for that, but the flooring will have to change since it has a slight slope towards the altar to provide better viewing for the pews in the back.</p>
<p>My son goes to the 7 p.m. Mass, too. His Latin class conflicts with the Tuesday-evening Mass-and-Meal deal. Plus, he always has classes around noontime, so daily Mass is usually impossible. I am just so grateful that he still regularly attends Sunday Mass. He has been picking up some questionable ideas and attitudes, but that’s inevitable at any college. (Yes, even at a Catholic college: My husband attended Holy Cross back when it was still all-male, and O the stories he tells!! He says college is where he learned to drink – it was ever thus, I guess. Plus, I’m from Boston, and we locals always used to refer to Boston College [Jesuit-run] as Beer City. So, just goes to show. But I digress…)</p>
<p>Anyway…I wish DS could be more involved at Saint Francis, but again, I’m just glad he’s going regularly. And praying that the homilies and Sacraments will get through to him!</p>
<p>Sorry for rambling. I didn’t know about the rule re the blessings. I tend to like the rules, too; just hadn’t known about that one. I think it should be OK to stretch a point occasionally, though, like when an entire fraternity shows up at Mass. :)</p>
<p>When we were moving to the South, our builder sent us several floorplans to choose from to build our home. We were confused by one floorplan that seemed to have a closet in the living room with a sink in it (it obviously was not a guest bathroom).</p>
<p>When I called to inquire what that odd closet was, the builder said, “This is the South. That is the wetbar. It’s in a closet so that you can close the door when the preacher stops by.”</p>
<p>I laughed and replied, “well, we’re Catholic so our priests drink with us.”</p>
<p>Thanks for the post about St. Francis. I think it is great that greek groups attend religious services together. Do any students attend Sunday morning masses? We will be in town for a weekend in January and would like to work in mass. Also, my son plays guitar and would like to attend a mass with contemporary music if you know if any of the masses are that style it would be helpful for us to know. I will let my son know about Tuesday night mass and meals–that sounds like a good way to make connections with other students.</p>
<p>When in Tuscaloosa, I usually attend the 9 am Mass, but have also attended the 11 am Mass on occasion. I’ve only been to the evening Mass a couple of times. The evening Mass has many, many students. </p>
<p>Yes, there are students at the 9 am service. There are also many families. St. Francis is the University parish - located on UA grounds.</p>
<p>Very likely the evening Mass (7 pm) will have the more contemporary youth-style Mass that you’re looking for. </p>
<p>The larger parish in Tuscaloosa, Holy Spirit, is located closer to the I-20 Interstate and is where the Catholic elementary and Catholic high school are located. That parish also has a new church…very attractive.</p>
<p>Thank you! We consider the catholic student center offerings a significant comparison point between colleges and this is very helpful. It sounds like UA gets another check in the “plus” column! :)</p>
<p>That is great that they attend church as a group and support each other.</p>
<p>Which church do the Baptists attend near the campus? Do they have weekly activities?<br>
Would love to attend the Sunday that DD and I are going to be there for Preview we would love to attend.</p>